Bipartisan legislation on water quality management plans, signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie last month already is paying dividends for New Jersey. All of the state’s 21 counties are expediting efforts to submit long-stalled plans that will improve New Jersey’s ability to protect some of the state’s most environmentally sensitive lands and better safeguard the state’s water quality.

The new legislation makes it possible for the Department of Environmental Protection to protect at least 250,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands across the state. It allows for removal of those important properties from existing — and, in some instances, obsolete — sewer service area designations.

In addition, the DEP can now move ahead with a long-stalled process that has left vulnerable lands unprotected and counties in a no-win bureaucratic bind. Most important, it will benefit the state’s water quality.

This is all part of the Christie administration’s continued commitment to a vigorous water quality planning process that protects the environment, offers better protections than nearby states do and, despite EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson’s opinion, meets our federal Clean Water Act obligations.

Unfortunately, there has been a lot of misleading commentary on this important issue.

The new legislation does not delay wastewater planning for two years, as critics allege, but expedites the process. It creates a 180-day, simplified and rational process to bring counties into compliance by permitting a phased submission of information.

It does not change the DEP’s approach to implementing water quality management planning rules adopted in 2008. Environmentally sensitive wetlands, stream corridors, steep slopes and habitat for endangered plants and animals will be removed from existing sewer service areas, many of which are based upon decades-old, outdated maps.

Water quality management plans are, essentially, maps that define areas where sewer service should be located. Finalizing those plans to remove sensitive lands from sewer service areas is crucial to protecting our environment and limiting development sprawl.

The new legislation fixes broken rules that made it virtually impossible for counties to complete that task and allows them to more efficiently get maps done.

We have accelerated this process. Under new rules, all 21 counties must provide at least sewer service area plans to the DEP within 180 days, and we anticipate having all plans by July and adopting those plans by the fall.

The Corzine administration put unworkable rules in place in 2008 that made it difficult for counties to succeed in this effort. The old rules would have harmed the state’s economy by requiring a halt to all development if plans could not be finalized.

The new law allows DEP to accept modernized sewer service area maps without waiting for the remaining portion of planning work, municipal zoning changes and ordinance adoption to be accomplished by local governments.

This will result in real improvements to water quality within a reasonable time frame.
The Christie administration continues to focus on improving water quality in New Jersey. The governor has demonstrated his commitment to better water quality through a series of initiatives, from the Barnegat Bay Restoration Plan to continued land preservation to protecting water quality, and decisions such as his veto of liquefied natural gas facilities off our shores.

Implementing a workable water quality management plan will allow us to continue forward with that commitment to enhancing New Jersey’s water quality.

Bob Martin is commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.